Russian Union of Rectors convened in Moscow

This was the first Union’s meeting with the new Vice-Premier of Russia Tatyana Golikova.

Rector Ilshat Gafurov joined the event at Moscow State University today.

One of the main points of discussion was a number of measures to act on President Putin's new decrees. In particular, a goal was set to become one of the top 10 countries in the world in education quality by 2024. Furthermore, 15 world-class research and education centers must be established by universities, research institutions and commercial entities. Visibility in international databases and rankings is one of the priorities. Chairman of the Union of Rectors, Rector of Moscow State University Victor Sadovnichy, noted that only 379 Russian journals are indexed in Web of Science and Scopus databases, which is much lower than 628 for China and over 6,000 for the United States.

Vice-Premier Golikova promised more support from the government for the upcoming development projects. In 2018 – 2024, about 674 billion rubles will be allocated for such purposes. She also emphasized the importance of creating an ecosystem for talented youth, which may include tighter coordination with Federal Agency for Youth Affairs. The first meeting on the new Education Project will be held by Premier Dmitry Medvedev on 13th August. Tatarstani rectors already submitted their proposals during the latest meeting.

After the convention, the rectors were invited to partake in the Russian Council of School Olympiads. Results of the last academic year’s contests were discussed, and the role of olympiads in talent development was analysed.

Many universities compete for high-performing secondary school graduates. As we have revealed recently, Kazan University now offers special enrolment incentives to high school contest winners and those who scored a maximum of 100 points at the Unified State Exam.